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2026阅读Text1
For thousands of years, donkeys have been critical for propelling human civilizations forward.
数千年来，驴在推动人类文明向前发展方面一直发挥着至关重要的作用。
They've helped pull wheeled vehicles, carry travelers and move goods across the world.
它们帮助拉动轮式车辆、运送旅客并在世界各地运输货物。
But where and when these animals first became intertwined with humans has been a mystery.
但是，这些动物最初是如何以及何时与人类产生密切联系的，一直是个谜。
Now, researchers have used genomes of over 200 donkeys to trace their domestication back to a single event around 7,000 years ago in East Africa— about 3,000 years before human stamed horses.
现在，研究人员利用200多头驴的基因组进，将其驯化历史追溯到大约7000年前东非的一次单一事件——这比人类驯服马早了大约3000年。
The team published their findings in the journal Science this month.
该团队于本月在《科学》杂志上发表了他们的发现。
"Through their DNA, the animals are telling their history themselves," co-author Samantha Brooks, an equine researcher at the University of Florida, says in a statement.
佛罗里达大学马科动物研究员、合著者萨曼莎·布鲁克斯在一份声明中说：“通过它们的DNA、这些动物正在亲自讲讲述自己的历史。”
"We usually only get the human's side of history through written accounts, but of course written history does not always record exactly how something happened.
我们通常只能通过书面记载了解人类方面的历史，但书面历史并不总是能准确记录事情是如何发生的。
Looking at these DNA sequences, we get a biological testimony to the environment these animals lived in and the experiences they survived.
观察这些DNA序列，我们获得了关于这些动物所生活环境以及它们所经历的生存体验的生物学证词。
The researchers examined 207 genomes from modern donkeys living in 31 countries across the globe.
研究人员检查了生活在全球31个国家的现代驴的207个基因组。
They also looked at genomes from 15 wild equids and 31 earlier donkeys that lived between about 4,000 and 100 years ago.
他们还研究了15匹野生马科动物以及生活在大约4000到100年前的31头早期驴的基因组。
The team reconstructed the animals' evolutionary tree and used computer models to pinpoint the domestication event when herders in Kenya and the Horn of Africa tamed wild asses.
该团队重建了这些动物的进化树，并使用计算机模型精准定位了肯尼亚和非洲之角的牧民驯服野驴的驯化事件。
They then traced how the animals spread across the rest of the continent into Europe and Asia about 2,500 years later.
然后，他们追踪了大约2500年后这些动物是如何扩散到非洲大陆其他地区并进入欧洲和亚洲的。
Though it's still unclear why the original domestication happened, Science News' FredaKreier reports that the event coincided with the Sahara growing larger and drier.
尽管最初的驯化为何发生仍不清楚，但《科学新闻》的佛雷达·克雷儿报道称，该事件与撒哈拉沙漠变得更大、更干燥发生在同一时期。
"Donkeys are champions when it comes to carrying stuff and are good at going at deserts," co-author Ludovic Orlando, an evolutionary biologist at Paul Sabin University in France, tells the publication.
论文合著者、法国保罗·萨宾大学的生物进化学家卢多维奇·奥兰多告诉该刊物：“在驮运物品方面，驴是当之无愧的冠军，而且他们擅长穿越沙漠。
Prehistoric humans may have tamed donkeys to help navigate the expanding Sahara.
史前人类可能驯化了驴，以帮助他们在不断扩张的撒哈拉沙漠中穿行。
Researchers say these findings could help put donkeys in the spotlight.
研究人员表示，这些发现可能有助于让驴成为人们关注的焦点。
The animals could benefit from more research: Currently, there are no published genomes from donkeys located south of the Equator in Africa.
这种动物将受益于更多的研究：目前，尚未有关于非洲赤道以南地区驴类的基因组数据发表。
But understanding where the animals were first domesticated could guide archaeologists to a narrow region to search for insights about the original tamed donkeys.
但是，了解这种动物最初被驯化的地方，可以引导考古学家缩小搜索范围，从而寻找关于初代驯化驴的线索。
Not only does understanding the equines' genetic makeup help reveal their contribution to human history, but it also might improve their management in the future, as climate change alters the planet's environment, write the authors.
作者写道，了解这些马科动物的基因组成不仅有助于揭示它们对人类历史的贡献，这也可能在未来改善对它们的管理。
02
单词和词组
donkey v.驴
ass n.驴
critical adj.关键的，批评的
propel v.推动，推进，迫使
civilization n.文明，文化
forward adv.向前
wheeled adj.有轮的
vehicle n.车辆，交通工具
carry v.运送
traveler n.旅行者
interwined adj.密切相关的
mistery n.谜，神秘
genome n.基因组
domestication n.驯化
single adj.单一的
tame v.驯服
horse n.马
publish v.发表，出版，公布
publication n.出版物
journal n.期刊
co-author n.合著者
equine adj.马科的
equid n.马科动物
statement n.声明
side n.方面
account n.记述，账户
record v.记录
exactly adv.准确的
sequence n.序列，一系列
biological adj.生物的
biologist n.生物学家
testimony n.证据
survive v.幸存
examine v.检查
country n.国家
globe n.地球
wild adj.野生的
reconstruct v.重建
evolutionary adj.进化的
model n.模型
pinpoint v.精准定位
herder n.牧人
trace v.追踪
continent n.大陆
original adj.最初的
coincide v.同时发生
champion n.冠军
stuff n.东西
prehistoric adj.史前的
navigate v.穿越
Sahara n.撒哈拉沙漠
equater n.赤道
archaeologist n.考古学家
narrow adj.狭窄的
region n.区域，行政区
insight n.见解
genetic adj.遗传的
reveal v.揭示
contribution n.贡献
management n. 管理
alter v.改变
planet n.星球
author n.作者
thousands of 几千
across the world 全世界
trace back 追溯
of course 当然
spread across 传遍
the rest of 其余
when it comes to 当涉及到
be good at 擅长于.....的
in the spotlight 成为注意中心
benefit from 从.....得到好处
search for 搜寻
not only but also 不仅......而且
in the future 在将来
climate change 气候变化
